Homeless Prevention Officer
Posted 17/05/2024 by OWOA
Homeless Prevention Officer
The Homeless Prevention Officer will be based within the dynamic Housing Advice Service, providing critical housing-related advice to a diverse clientele. The primary objective of this role is to prevent homelessness by utilizing a wide range of tools and strategies. The officer will participate in multi-agency meetings to support the most vulnerable members of the community, ensuring the sustainability of tenancies and accommodation arrangements.
Main Duties and Responsibilities
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Homelessness Prevention:
Proactively determine duties owed to applicants and prevent homelessness through timely and appropriate actions under current homeless legislation. - Develop and manage Personal Housing Plans.
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Advice and Assistance:
Deliver the Council’s statutory duty to provide advice and assistance to customers who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. -
Front Line Service:
Provide efficient and effective front line assessment and prevention service. - Accurately assess housing need and homelessness in line with housing legislation through various assessment methods, ensuring the Council's legal duties are met.
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Collaboration:
Work with external partner agencies including Registered Providers, Private Rented, and Voluntary Sector to promote homelessness prevention. - Identify and implement multi-agency actions and solutions, aligning with customer expectations and needs.
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Fairness and Equality:
Continuously improve fairness and equality for customers, staff, and partners with regard to race, disability, gender, sexuality, religion, and age. -
Teamwork:
Collaborate with team members to meet deadlines and fulfill roles and responsibilities. - Assist in developing best practices for homelessness services and solutions.
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Community Engagement:
Engage actively with community groups, external partners, charities, and other organizations to reduce homelessness across the Borough. -
Performance and Reporting:
Meet individual and team performance targets.Maintain high standards of record keeping, report activity, and contribute to monitoring, review, and data management activities. -
Meetings and Policies:
Attend internal and external meetings as required. - Comply with Council policies and procedures, including health, safety, welfare, customer care, emergency, evacuation, and security protocols.
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Flexibility:
Work flexibly, including undertaking other duties appropriate to the employee’s background, skills, and abilities.Engage in personal development as needed.
About You
Essential Qualifications:
- Level 3 qualification or equivalent in a housing-related field.
- Minimum of 3 GCSEs, including English and Maths.
Essential Skills, Knowledge, and Experience:
- Proven experience in planning, organizing, and prioritizing workloads to meet performance targets and deadlines.
- Experience working with vulnerable and homeless people, conducting client assessments and interviews.
- Ability to make s.184 decisions for Homelessness Prevention, Relief, and Final Duty.
- Understanding of issues faced by homeless individuals and adults at risk.
- Ability to exercise sound judgment, solve problems, and seek advice as necessary.
- Strong negotiation and conflict management skills.
- Proactive and creative in finding solutions for various homelessness scenarios.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills, capable of presenting accurate information through case notes and emails.
- Knowledge and experience of allocations processes and homelessness software.
- Customer-focused, with an understanding of the needs of customers requiring additional support or referral.
- Relevant experience in homelessness or housing management, with an understanding of the Housing Act 1996, Homelessness Act 2002, Localism Act 2011, and Homelessness Reduction Act 2017.
- Type:
- Contract
- Start Date:
- asap
- Contract Length:
- 9 months
- Contact Name:
- Login or register to view
- Job Reference:
- 0008 C28C / 1
- Job ID:
- 221671045
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